PSE BULL RUN 2013

A  source of happiness for a grizzly veteran runner like me is to encourage  new and younger runners go for longer distances and see it come into fruition. 

Such is the case at the PSE Bull Run 2013 last January 13 where I saw two First Balfour (FB)  runners,  Joy Castillo and Reina Glorioso,  crossed the 21-km finish line for the first time.  What made the feeling much better is to see them smile and enjoy their running achievements.

BP with fellow FB runners

There were  9 runners from First Balfour  out of the 1,674 finishers in the 21-km race category of the PSE Bull Run.  They are:

Orly Jacob                      2 hrs & 28 mins

Emman Balamban            2 hrs & 32 mins.

Macky de Lima (BP)         2 hrs & 53 mins

Iya Pe                             2 hrs & 55 mins

Joy Castillo                     2 hrs & 56 mins

Reina Glorioso                 3 hrs & 9 mins

Icar Hombrebueno           3 hrs & 11 mins

Delsie Giray                    3 hrs & 11 mins

Lily Santamaria               3 hrs & 15 mins

Iya and Joy with 5 kms to go

Joy at the finish

Reina chalking up 1 half marathon

Thumbs up from Reina and Emman

Icar and Delsie near the finish

First Balfour running club

The PSE Bull Run is the first race that I joined for the new year 2013. By and large, it was an enjoyable event for me.  There were adequate amount of water, with ice,  in all the water stations of the 21-km race route. In a few of the water stations, Pocari Sweat sports drink was in abundance. A couple of the water stations had bananas available.  Kudos and thanks to AdEvents and Mary Ann Ringor.

It was also inspiring to see a handful of the Philippine Stock Exchange officials, lead by its President Hans Sicat, plus business leaders running the 21-km race event.  Prominent in his red running shirt was Fernando Zobel de Ayala.  

Two bloggers

Aside from joining my fellow FB runners, I was also running with my fellow Bicolano blogger  Mau Gines, who I am helping train for her first marathon this early February.  Almost 3 weeks of running inactivity had her experiencing bearish blues but a relaxed finish at the PSE Bull Run 2013 made her  bullish. 

And  back to the newly-minted half marathoners of First Balfour, a look at the jovial faces of Joy and Reina at the finish made me realize that their running quest will not stop with the 21-kms.  It will be leading to a full marathon. Perhaps, even beyond.  

The potential of the human spirit for running is bottomless.

Full marathon, next?